Everyone is very supportive of Pink 1000+1025, today's update is 12,000, please forgive my greed, in the last few hours, let me see how much more pink I can get, if there are any extra parts, next month I will continue to add them.

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  Peony returned to the Fragrant Garden, but didn't see Zhen and Sun. After asking someone, she found out that they had gone with Master Fuyuan to the back of the garden to inspect the progress of the construction work. Peony hadn't expected Master Fuyuan to come today, so she reluctantly went to accompany them.

  As they walked to the Peach and Plum Forest, they suddenly saw a little monk running out of the forest, laughing, with one hand holding a half-eaten peach, the other hand holding his robe, and several peaches and plums in his arms. He didn't forget to turn back and tease Ah Tao's younger brother Ah Shun: "Come on, I'll give you some if you catch up."

  A Shun ran over with a red face, his two hands stretched out, shouting: "Little monk, you're not allowed to run."

  Two people suddenly saw the peony and stopped in their tracks. Ah Shun imitated the adults, bowing to Peony and Wu Lang, while Man blinked her eyes and said: "Master He, why did you just come? I've been waiting for you to bring me peaches since morning, but I couldn't wait any longer, so I had to ask Master to come over and take a look."

  "Peony smiled and said: 'I originally planned to bring it back for you later, but since you're here, it doesn't matter if there are ten or eight. Let's just eat our fill this time. Just be careful not to eat too much so that you can't finish your vegetarian meal later.'"

  Ruan Hehe smiled and said, "Master is in the forest watching people dig a river course. I'll lead you there." After finishing speaking, he skipped forward carefree to guide the way. A Shun went up front, pinched his hem, grabbed a peach and fed it into his mouth, happily following him as they ran forward.

  Peony saw Ah Shun's back jumping, thinking of the timid little boy at that time, and couldn't help but sigh that He Zhizhong was a man of his word.

  The river course in the peach and plum forest has been dug up one-third, and the peach trees and plum trees that occupy the road are picked up early and transplanted to the side. The workers eat fruit while working, and also pick the ripest ones to give to Master Fuyuan, who eats them after wiping them on his sleeve.

  The Sun and Zhen families stood far away, watching and whispering to each other from time to time. The expressions on their faces were not very good-looking. As soon as Zhen saw the peony, she pulled Sun's hand and quickly walked over to pull Peony away from Ruman, standing aside and saying in a low voice: "Dan Niang, you should also tell your fifth brother to take care of these people you invited. They are doing their job, but they are also stealing the host's fruit. It's really not like that! This thing is not worthless, it can be sold for a good price." She glanced at Sun again, "I want to take care of it, but your sixth sister won't let me." The implication was: see if you still consider her a good person.

  Sun said hastily, "This thief's reputation is not good to casually assign. I was thinking that they dared to eat in front of us, and what they ate were only trees that needed to be transplanted, other people's homes didn't move, which explains that they have a plan in mind, maybe they got permission from Fifth Brother or Dan Niang, we don't know the reason, it's better not to speak carelessly, lest we offend someone and cause trouble for Dan Niang."

  Zhen Shi did not rely on it and said: "Dan Niang, isn't it true that you allowed them to eat?"

  Wu Lang walked over and said in a low voice, "I'm the one who allowed them to eat it. When we're using people, what's the point of saying that other things growing on trees can't be left behind? Can't these things that can't be kept be sold for money instead? Eating two fruits won't hurt anything." Why are you being so stingy?

  Zhen said with a pout: "Alright, alright, it's just me being too nosy."

  Peony hastily grasped her hand and smiled: "Sister-in-law is also thinking of me?"

  "Zhen said: 'I have a bad temper and am not liked by people, and even good intentions are not rewarded. I know you all say behind my back that I'm stingy, but I'm a person who is straightforward, one is one, two is two... since it's asking them to work, then of course the wages will be given...' "

  Sun watched as Master Fuyu walked over and quickly pulled her: "Master Fuyu has arrived."

  Zhen Shi reluctantly stopped talking, forced a smile at Master Fuyu and said: "Master Fuyu, Wu Lang, and Mu Dan paid their respects. Master Fuyu smiled and said: 'I'm going on a long trip in a few days, so I came to see if there's anything you need here?'"

  She had many places to ask, Peony hurriedly said: "Master, you looked at the construction progress today and felt that there might be some deviation? If so, please tell me, it's better to get it done early. Are you going on a cloud tour? How long will you go for? I still have many places to ask you, such as what kind of stone to put in which place..."

  "It's just the simplest project now, and there's no deviation." Fuyuan monk lowered his eyes and calculated for a moment, "Miss Tan, please rest assured, I'm not wandering around. When it's time to build houses, place stones, pile up fake mountains, and plant flowers and trees, I'll be back too."

  "Peony let out a sigh of relief and smiled: 'In that case, there's nothing more to say. Master, please come in and have some tea.'"

  Fuyuan's eyes flickered, slightly surprised. He had heard Jiang Changyang talk about the matter of Mudan Village last night, and now seeing Mudan coming to find him at this time, he guessed that she might have something to ask of him, so he came here on purpose, thinking that if he could help her out, it wouldn't be a big deal. But unexpectedly, Mudan didn't say a word. What was the reason for this?

  A Tao hastily ran in and said: "Madam, someone is looking for you at the big kitchen."

  Peony hurriedly excused herself and asked Wu Lang to accompany Fuyuan Monk to the house to drink tea and chat, while she followed Atao to the large kitchen: "Who is looking for me?"

  A Tao said: "It's Xiao Li who is scolding Zhou Ba Niang in the kitchen. They're about to come to blows, so they called me to find you to mediate."

  Peony guessed that it was probably because of Zhou Bayi forcing Xiao Lizi to do something for her own family, but when she and Xiao Lizi parted ways earlier, Xiao Lizi was fine. Suddenly, he got angry in an instant, and I don't know if anything else happened. So she asked Atao: "Are Zhou Bayi and Xiao Lizi from the same family? I went to his house before and saw that Zhou Bayi is quite capable and young."

  "Ah Tao saw Peony and asked herself, feeling both excited and nervous, in a low voice: "You don't know about their family matters. They weren't originally one family, Zhou Bama was originally Xiao Lizi's younger sister-in-law, married to a man surnamed Lu in the city's Chang'an Fang, but after her husband died, Zhou Dama also passed away, and Xiao Lizi asked the Zhou family to continue the marriage, asking to marry Zhou Bama. Zhou Bama refused, but her family still forced her to remarry. At first, she would chase Xiao Lizi around with a broom every day, beating him for about two months before finally calming down."

  Peony finally understood why Zhou Banian sighed that women are not easy to get along with, it turned out she was a woman who had been bullied and was unhappy.

  Atao saw Peony and didn't say a word, so she continued with a big heart: "This Zhou Bama's courage is really big, and the patterns are also very rich. She once taught the young women in the village to use old bamboo chips and orange leaves to make incense, and everyone laughed at her for thinking about living a good life like a rich family, but she didn't care, I did my own thing. The slave had run to smell her incense before, and it smelled pretty good. But she also does disgusting things, catching frogs to make some kind of dish called Bao Yu Geng, saying it's a method learned from Baiyue. It's really disgusting, and I don't know how she thought of doing such a disgusting thing." Atao said this, and cooperatively shivered with cold.

  She thought Peony would be like others, hearing about doing this kind of frog-eating would be shocked and disgusted, but Peony didn't show any disgust, instead calmly asked: "Have you seen her do frog-eating?"

  A Tao was taken aback: "I haven't seen it. I only heard Wang Danni say that the people in the kitchen all said that if Zhou Bamu didn't make a good dish and have a good physique, they would definitely tell you not to let her help in the big kitchen."

  Peony murmured a soft "oh", and Ah Tao, who was standing beside her, observed her expression and thought that Peony didn't seem to dislike Zhou Banniang, but rather seemed to be slightly interested. So she continued the conversation in a direction favorable to Zhou Banniang, smiling as she said: "Actually, she's quite capable. Whenever someone in the village gets married or has a daughter-in-law, they all love to invite her over to help with cooking. She's also very enthusiastic and willing to lend a hand. Once, when my stepmother was chasing us and almost pushed my little brother into the river, it was Zhou Banniang who helped us out, even getting into an argument with my stepmother."

  Peony's eyebrows furrowed upon hearing this, and she sternly looked at Atao, saying: "So it seems that not only is she a capable and enthusiastic person who has helped you out, but you're also following others in spreading rumors about her behind her back? Isn't this ungrateful and disloyal?"

  Atao saw Peony suddenly turn her face, scared and hastily stood still, nervously twisting her fingers, hanging her head and stuttering: "The slave only wanted to tell you everything she knew, wanting to please you."

  The peony saw her little face pale instantly, thinking that this child was a crooked neck tree, and said: "Although you are trying to make me happy, a gentleman has something to do and something not to do. Your behavior makes people look down on you. If you don't change, I'm afraid you won't be able to stay here in the future."

  A Tao bit her lip: "From now on, I won't speak ill of others, only good things"

  Peony sighed and called out to Yuhe: "Teach her the ways of being a person, then teach her what words should be said."

  Yu He smiled slightly, and like an eagle grasping a small chicken, she grabbed A Tao's collar and pulled her aside to scold her.

  When Peony arrived at the big kitchen, the commotion had already subsided. Xiao Li and Zhou Banniang were just about to come looking for her. Xiao Li was scowling with his beard bristling, his face iron-green, muttering curses under his breath, while Zhou Banniang looked utterly nonchalant.

  "Uncle Xiao, what's wrong? Who made you angry?"

  Xiao Rizheng saw the peony and hurried over, huffing and puffing: "I'm not your uncle, I don't deserve it, stop shouting randomly. You almost killed me! If I had known you were up to no good, I wouldn't have agreed to this stupid woman's request."

  Zhou Ba Niang carelessly walked forward and blocked his way, smiling at Peony: "Little girl, let's find a quiet place to talk."

  Peony led the two of them into the house, found a quiet room, and asked them to sit down. He carefully asked Zhou Banniang: "You were fine just now, why did you say I killed someone? What happened?"

  Zhou Ba Niang smiled faintly: "Isn't it just that you guys had just left, and the slaves in Ning Wang Fu's Zhuangzi went to look for him? I thought that this person can only be a witness once, he himself was late, who can blame whom? The written evidence is there, can it still be changed? Conveniently, didn't go find our Xiao Li Zheng, poured him a cup of tea and came to work."

  Xiao Li's face turned red with rage: "Do you know who that is? The son of the Wang family, can you afford to offend him?" He glared at Peony, "Can you afford to offend him?"

  The peony was about to open its mouth, and Zhou Baniang immediately gave Xiao Lizi a sideways glance: "You're really stupid, I've already arranged everything for you, but you don't know how to decline, who can blame?"

  Xiao Lizi said: "I dodged it, I told them they came too late, I've already written that thing, can't change it now, tell them to go find He Jia instead. But he wouldn't let me off, saying I'm intentionally going against them, asking if I don't want to be the village head anymore... and then slapped me on the head, even my teeth were shaken..."

  "Peony looked at him with a steady gaze, and indeed saw that half of his face was red and swollen. He couldn't help but feel apologetic: 'I'm really sorry, but now it's come to this, I can only ask you to push the blame onto me. I'll cover the medical expenses too, consider it my apology...'"

  "Originally, it was going to be pushed onto you guys anyway." Seeing Peony look over at her, she said calmly and naturally: "Your goal is to have us testify for you, my goal is also not to do anything shameful, nor do I want to get caught in the middle and be bullied by others. So we're both getting what we need. It's just that this old fool is too stupid, has a small and greedy heart, doesn't know how to handle things but still wants to be the boss, serves him right for being unlucky."

  Peony thought to herself, that's exactly what happened. At the time, she didn't tell the truth, but rather coaxed Xiao Li into helping her with this difficult matter. But from Zhou Ba Niang's perspective, it was also a way of getting rid of the problem by signing off on it and pushing it onto Peony and the Ning Wang Fu to deal with, indicating that they wouldn't get involved again.

  No one is foolish, everyone has their own thoughts. The common people are just thinking for themselves, and it's hard to say who is good or bad. It's just that Xiao Li was slapped because of his own fault, and Zhou Bamao is indeed innocent. Peony said: "I'm the one who caused you trouble, I'll apologize to both of you here. Is there a doctor nearby? I'll send someone to fetch him immediately to treat Lij Zheng's injury."

  Xiao Rizheng hummed and said, "No need to explain. I'll just take the beating as a freebie. I don't dare get involved with your family again. They told me to wait and see, that I'm here to take her back home. You'd better calculate her wages for today and give them to her quickly. Then you can wait for the Ning Wangfu people to come find trouble with you. Just wait for your bad luck!"

  Mrs. Feng brought in the tea, and upon hearing this, she became somewhat annoyed. What kind of person is this, with dung in his mouth? How can he speak like that? She was about to say a few words when Peony hastily pulled her away, laughing: "Thank you, Uncle Xiao, for coming to report the news. You are truly kind-hearted people. I will be careful. Since it's like this, I don't dare keep you any longer. Go help Aunt Zhou settle the wages."

  Mrs. Feng went to settle the account, but didn't ask Zhou Bama how much she was owed, and directly asked Wu Lang to take out a string of money to give to Zhou Bama. Zhou Bama smiled, counted out 100 coins, and said to Peony: "The extra will be considered as payment for selling medicine to him. You take care, young lady." After finishing speaking, she didn't wait for Mrs. Feng to send her off, and dragged Xiao Li away.

  "Who is this person who dares to be so arrogant? Taking advantage of the big event happening in the Ning Wang Fu, they are causing trouble outside. Doesn't he fear bringing trouble to the Ning Wang Fu and also to himself? Clearly knowing that our family is related to Li Shu Ye, yet still being so detestable."

  "Let's tell Fifth Brother and the others to be careful these days, don't let anyone take advantage of us."

  Madam Feng nodded in agreement. Peony glanced at the sky and saw that it was getting late, then she instructed Ah Tao: "Have someone go to the forest to pick some fresh peaches and plums, prepare four portions, one for Master Fuyuan to take back, one to be sent home, one to be sent to the Li family, and another to be sent to Madame Bai of the Chu State Governor's Mansion." She also called out to Yu He: "Have the kitchen hurry up and send over some vegetarian dishes, eat quickly so that Master Fuyuan can return to the city early."

  Peony invited Master Fuyu to have a vegetarian meal, and then called Wu Lang aside, repeating what Xiaoli Zheng had said. "Fifth brother, you shouldn't stay here tonight, go back with San Shu and Liu Shu."

  Wu Lang frowned and said, "Since they want to look for trouble, we should let someone stay here. If we all leave, what if someone comes to make trouble? No way, I'm not going."

  "Peony Road: 'It's been a long time since I've seen you, Fifth Sister. I'll stay here.'"

  Wulang smiled slightly: "You're just a woman, how can those dirty tricks be more than what I've seen? You don't trust me to stay behind, how can I trust you to stay behind alone? Alright then, if you really want to stay behind, let's have my brother and sister stay behind together."

  Peony fell silent for a moment, then looked up at Wu Lang and smiled: "Good."

  Zhen and Sun heard that Peony was not going back, they muttered to themselves for a long time, saying that Peony staying here was just causing trouble, and also said that there was nothing here, Peony didn't even bring her spare clothes, it's inconvenient, etc. They were trying their best to persuade Peony to leave with them.

  "Peony just shook her head: 'The clothes are not a problem, I brought two sets when I first started working and left them here as spare. There's no need for anything else, I won't let Fifth Brother stay here alone, I'll stay to help him out.' Although she didn't know what trouble Manager Deng would bring her, at this moment she absolutely wouldn't leave Wu Lang alone to guard the place by himself."

  Zhen and Sun had no choice but to say: "We'll let our servants turn back and help you as soon as we reach the city gate."

  Fuyuan finished his meal quietly, then followed Mudan's suggestion and accompanied Zhen Shi, Sun Shi, and the He family's servants back to the city. As he was leaving, he gazed at Mudan calmly and said, "Be careful with the wood."

  The most vulnerable is the wood, a fire can burn it clean... After burning, she won't stop working, will she? Peony shivered and replied seriously: "Good."

  Fuyuan monk smiled slightly, and with both hands clasped together, he bowed to Peony and Fifth Brother, thanking the He family's servant for leading over the horse. He then mounted his own donkey again and slowly departed.

  Peony and Fifth Brother discussed for a few sentences, taking advantage of the fact that it was not yet dark, they quickly made arrangements. The wood, bricks, and tiles had already been brought in and placed under guard by specialized personnel. Now that there was this kind of danger, they couldn't help but raise their wages, arrange several more careful people to keep watch, and organize a night patrol team to go back and forth on the construction site at night to prevent anyone from sneaking in to cause trouble.

  As the sky grew darker, Yuhe and Feng Danni cleaned up Peony's room and brought hot water from the kitchen, telling Peony to go take a bath. Peony was indeed exhausted, having run around all day, sweating profusely, feeling like she was about to crystallize into salt grains. Being able to soak in a comfortable bath was just what she needed.

  She lay in the bathtub and didn't want to come out, thinking that she should take this opportunity to build a shower room. Dizzy and leaning against the wall of the bathtub, she fell asleep, until Yuhua knocked on the door outside and startled her awake.

  Yu He hurriedly carried a bundle of peony's clean clothes into the room, saw her drowsy appearance and couldn't help but scold: "You fell asleep again, if you catch a cold won't it be your own loss?" While saying this, she covered Peony's head with a large piece of cotton cloth and helped her wipe her hair. Peony, while putting on her clothes, mumbled drowsily: "Have my third sister-in-law and sixth sister-in-law arrived yet?"

  Yu He's hand paused, and he said in a low voice: "Just now someone came to report that the two young ladies were almost hit by a mad cow on their way back to the capital. Fortunately, Master Fuyuan was quick-witted and diverted the mad cow, so nothing serious happened. However, the donkey he rented was injured."

  The peony's nap was suddenly startled, and she couldn't believe it was a coincidence. She took the cotton cloth from Rain Lotus' hand with a gloomy face, wrapped her hair and walked out: "Where is my fifth brother?"

  Yu He chased him out: "Go outside and deal with the household servants and farm workers. You'd better fix your hair, make yourself look decent before going out? This isn't home, there are men everywhere."

  Peony stopped in her tracks, patiently enduring the scolding as she tidied up. Once her hair was half dry, she simply coiled it into a bun and immediately went to look for Wu Lang. Wu Lang was indeed leading several workers under the willow tree, drinking tea and chatting. Seeing Peony approach, he walked over and said: "You've heard everything? Don't be afraid, they're all fine. Tonight, more people will be sent from home to help out, and we'll also go to negotiate with the Li family overnight. It should be resolved soon. You don't have to worry about things here, just take care of yourself."

  "Brother Five, it's just a small matter like this, why are they being so stubborn and unreasonable? Even if they really want to take over the land, they should say it directly. Why are they doing things behind our backs in such an insidious way?"

  "Wu Lang smiled warmly: 'Silly girl, there are many things in this world that can't be understood. Human hearts can be extremely good and extremely evil, it's all normal. People are different from one another, don't use your own thoughts to guess others' thoughts. What we think is unfair, maybe they also think it's unfair. Why didn't you just let them trample over you, but instead repeatedly provoked them and opposed them? It really doesn't make sense.'"

  "Right. You're not planning on sleeping tonight, are you? Then I'll keep you company."

  "Alright," said Wu Lang thought for a moment, "Just like when we were kids, I'll tell you a story?"

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